For media inquiries, please contact: Kate Thorstad, DLU Staff Attorney at (303) 532-2471, kthorstad@disabilitylawunited.org.
Earlier this month the City of New Orleans released emergency operations plans as a result of our July lawsuit against them for failing to comply with Louisiana’s Public Record Law. These public records, including previously undisclosed plans, are available here.
We repeatedly asked New Orleans for public records related to emergency preparedness and response over the course of seven months. We received largely nonresponsive or outdated documents and drafts in reply. In response to a final demand letter warning the city that we were going to sue them for noncompliance, the city insisted that they had given us all responsive records and considered our record request fulfilled. Once the lawsuit was filed, the city was quick to release the requested records. After a meeting with the court, they also certified that plans for some of the most critical aspects of disaster response do not exist.
The newly released public records include a 2024 Comprehensive Emergency Operations Plan, 2024 City Assisted Evacuation Plan, 2023 Emergency Resource Center Plan, 2022 Emergency Sheltering Plan, and 2022 Hazardous Weather Preparedness and Response Plan. Notably missing are plans, drafts, or contracts related to the “refuge of last resort,” comprehensive paratransit plans or contracts, and resource delivery and distribution plans or contracts, among other concerns. The city certified in writing that those and other plans, contracts or agreements do not exist in draft or final form. That certification is included in the link above.
The disability community deserves to know the plan. Disability Law United has made these records public in order to inform and empower disabled New Orleanians. New Orleans needs plans that meet the legal requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act on paper and that are actionable in practice. We will continue to work with and advocate for the community towards addressing inequities and deficiencies in planning.
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Disability Law United (formerly known as Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center) is a nonprofit legal organization fighting for liberation through intersectional disability justice with a combination of education, legal advocacy, direct services, and impact litigation. Our work is informed by grassroots movements for systemic change and centers the concerns and goals of people with disabilities who are confronting barriers to access to programs and services and resisting oppressive legal systems in the United States.